The Fencing Master: A Novel

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Summary: A mystery within a historical novel within a character study
Review: The Fencing master was a bit of a surprise, as it finds success more as a character study and exploration of personal ethics, unlike earlier novels Flanders Panel and Club Dumas, which were intricate and playful mysteries. Nontheless, this was a satisfying and enjoyable read. The book is built around a memorable figure, the fencing master, a Quixote like man of remarkable ethical consistency and dignity, but with a self awareness and sense of irony lacking in the man from La Mancha. Riverte also treats us to thrilling fencing sequences, political and moral intrigues of 19th century Spain, and a femme fatale to rival m'lady in the Three Musketeers. A worthy novel from one of the most interesting and intellectually diverse writers working.

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Summary: An elegant, powerful, period thriller - A gem of a book!
Review: What a gem of a book! This is a splendidly original, elegantly written, period thriller that is near impossible to put down. The tale is set in 19th century Madrid, a time of political instability and intrigue, against the backdrop of rumored coup plots against the Spanish queen. Don Jaime Astarloa, a proud, aging, master fencer and teacher, practices his noble art which he sees slowly losing its place within aristocratic society. He is approached one day by a beautiful yet mysterious young woman who requests that he take her on as a student. Though reluctant at first to instruct a woman, Don Jaime soon discovers that she is a skilled fencer. The mystery surrounding her grows, however, when she abruptly discontinues her lessons after learning an arcane yet deadly technique that only a select few fencers can perform. Soon thereafter, a series of murders takes place that forces Don Jaime to question whom he can trust and whether he himself is safe.

The Fencing Master combines a gripping plot, elegant prose, and intense, powerful descriptions of fencing duels that may at times leave you breathless. Think of the grace and beauty in Hemingway's depiction of bullfighting in The Sun Also Rises, and you may have some sense of how masterfully Perez-Reverte has captured the essence of the art of fencing. With each turn of the page you will feel transported to a different time and place. The stylish prose and authoritative narrative voice fill this novel with an authentic period feel. And each sentence conveys an understated sense of strength, pride, honor, integrity, and passion that make this book and its hero simply unforgettable.

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Summary: Hollywood - don't even think about messing this one up!
Review: Bear with me: I haven't even read this book, but I'm checking it out at my local library this week and can't wait to get started, it sounds great. How I wish I could read Spanish! (I'm praying it doesn't read silly in English). I only learned of Reverte today after finding out that Viggo Mortensen's next film will be "Captain Alatriste", another Reverte novel in pre-production in Spain and scheduled to start shooting late 2004 early 2005. I'm European, but have lived in the US for over a decade and I confess I had never heard of "Spain's most popular writer" - I'm truly embarassed! And I didn't even know that "The Ninth Gate" with Johnnie Depp is based on Reverte's novel "Club Dumas". I was also very surprised to learn that several of his books have been translated into English. Some of his titles do sound like they are of the "Name of the Rose"/"The Da Vinci Code" genre, but nothing wrong with that I suppose. However, I picked "The Fencing Master" because it sounds more character driven that plot driven - the others sound like the characters are fairly one or two dimensional. "The Fencing Master" sounds like it would make a fantastic film, but not the Hollywood kind! Hopefully someone in Spain will adapt it. Viggo Mortensen speaks fluent Spanish due to his childhood spent in Argentina with his Danish father and American mother and two brothers. How cool is that?
Oh, and maybe I have a one-track mind, but "the unstoppable thrust" sounds like a double entendre. Fencing is very sexy. Now that the divine Penelope Cruz has wised up and gotten tired of Tom Cruise, she could head back to her native Spain and play the fencing student in "The Fencing Master". And Spain have loads of superb actors who can play the Master himself. Of course, we could have Pedro Almadovar (did I mess up on the spelling there?) do his take on it and have the student and master be two gay men - that would be very cool!

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Summary: Perez-Reverte Redux
Review: This novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte is something of a departure from his other books. Instead of a book set in modern times where the story connects to the past, this story actually takes place in the past, back in 1868 when the Spanish monarchy was on its last wobbly legs. The protagonist and title character is Don Jaime, a fencing master in Madrid who has had most of his life defined by the art (he insists on calling it that rather than a sport) and by his conception of honor, which was probably old-fashioned when he was a young man, and is now sadly outdated. He has killed men in fencing duels, and had to flee Spain as a result, living for years in exile in France (there's no explanation in the plot, at least as far as I could see, for his rehabilitation so that he could live in Spain again) and learning from a master fencer there.

In Madrid, he teaches fencing mostly to young boys whose parents are wealthy, well-born, and spoiled. He has several adult students, however, and one in particular, a dissolute libertine of a nobleman who enjoys the passtime of fencing. Don Jaime's only other social contacts consist of an unofficial social club who meet daily at a local restaurant and argue about politics, society, and so forth. These arguments provide (as one of the other reviewers pointed out) exposition for the political turmoil of 1868 Spain, which would otherwise be obscure to most.

Into Don Jaime's fading world of honor and dignity steps a woman. She is (of course) gorgeous and turns out to be intelligent and (naturally) a wonderful fencer also. Don Jaime takes her on as a pupil, at first reluctantly, and begins to simultaneously fall in love with her. But things go awry, the bodies begin to pile up, and Don Jaime, in the middle of things, is in some trouble because while he's very skilled with a foil, he's basically a babe in the woods when it comes to political intrigue.

This is a very good novel, full of layers and textures, as all of Perez-Reverte's novels are and do. The plot is a bit more obvious than in some of his other books, and has bits and pieces of plots from other detective novelist, borrowing from Agatha Christie and Mickey Spillane with no compunctions. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it

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Summary: Top-flight adventure
Review: The antiquarian book trade, chess, art restoration, and an audacious hacker in the Pope's personal computer have all served as jumping-off points for Arturo Perez-Reverte's unusual intellectual thrillers. Earlier books by the Spanish journalist made the past part of the present, but with The Fencing Master, he enters the realm of historical suspense. Don Jaime Astarloa teaches fencing, a skill which is already quite outdated by the book's 1868 setting. He makes a modest living from a few dedicated clients, and plans on a quiet retirement in the near future. These plans take a turn when a beautiful young woman asks him to teach her the killing thrust for which he is known across Europe, and which he has taught to only a few favored pupils. Like many European writers, Perez-Reverte assumes a certain level of education among his readers. In this case, he stirs Don Jaime's dilemma in with the threatened overthrow of Queen Isabel, coffeehouse plotters and bigmouths, and the possible takeover of Madrid by revolutionaries. These unfamiliar historical events are handled with great clarity, as are the fencing terms and thrusts which are the fencing master's art. Perhaps because of the weight of the historical setting, The Fencing Master is a much less convoluted book than the earlier Seville Communion or The Club Dumas, with a less Dickensian cast of characters and fewer tricky twists and turns. This is a more character-driven book, but don't imagine you'll be disappointed-the ending is spectacular. (A film version of The Club Dumas is due to be released soon. It will be interesting to see what Hollywood makes out of a story that revolves around a manuscript by a 19th century writer of massive adventure stories!)

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Summary: More Boring Than Expected
Review: This is the fourth book I have read by this author, and it is the most boring. The book is rather thin in overall character - the plot is rather simple and there is little to no suspense in this so-called mystery. Perhaps someone interested in Spanish fencing masters of the mid to late 1800's or interested in Spain would be more moved by this book. I was just looking for a good read - and this was not it.

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Summary: It's ok...
Review: I read this book primarily because I am a fencing student and wanted to read something with a fencing theme. I have to say that I was never hooked and the plot was very predictable. Maybe mysteries are not my kind of genre. I thought the story took a long time to build up to the climax, and there was only one plot, weak at that. I am not sure why so many people gave it five stars. However, I will say that the main character was a real likeable old-fashioned type of guy and the end does pick up in pace. It ends with a bang, a predictable bang, but no less a bang.

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Summary: Perez-Reverte's Mysterious, Beautiful and Evil Woman
Review: I have only read a couple of books by Arturo Perez-Reverte and have enjoyed them all, but have noticed that he has a fascination with the mysterious, demonically beautiful and evil woman.
I'm not providing a summary because it will spoil the story. Let the story unfold and let the author whisk you off your feet if you like murder mysteries with a period setting with perhaps a hint of the supernatural.

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Summary: Another great one from Perez-Reverte
Review: I already had The Fencing Master on my shelf after having loved Pérez-Reverte's The Club Dumas (which is about antiquarian book dealers, and is much better than The Ninth Gate, its film adaptation--despite the presence of Johnny Depp). So, after finishing The Orchid Thief, I picked it up to read as well. It's a story of mystery and intrigue involving Don Jaime Astarloa, the local fencing master, who lives in a reclusive mansion and concerns himself with little other than his chosen occupation.

That is, until a mysterious woman--Doña Adele de Otero--asks him to teach her his secret, unstoppable fencing thrust. Don Jaime is distraught. Teach a woman a gentleman's sport? Never! But she turns out to be quite proficient and he gives in, but not before he falls in love with her.

This sets into action a chain of events that will end up with at least two people dead before it is all worked out. Pérez-Reverte is excellent at this sort of intrigue and I was glued to every page, even as I was absorbing the art of fencing.

Now, due to reading The Fencing Master, I want to learn how to fence.

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Summary: Really good read
Review: Although I am late to the party, this book has already been well reviewed many times, I still wanted to put in my two cents. It is a great little book. The two principle characters are fascinating, there is only one really large suspension of disbelief, and, at the end you care about what has happened. It is helpful to know something of fencing, after all that word in the title is why I bought the book, but not essential. The book is a character study in the finest sense of the phrase, not a fencing manual.

If you have a three hour plane ride - this is a perfect companion, unless you read slowly and find that you missed your stop.